We recently sat down with a client to help him set up our client-only website, MySummitPlace.com. The client was excited to link all his financial accounts and see his entire net worth in one place. So after going through his invested portfolio, we started to identify the online access information for his insurance, bank and mortgage. The client knew the general information, but had to look up the last password. They knew they had to change their passwords regularly, but admitted that they sometimes forgot to update them where they kept their password list: a small yellow notebook in a nearby desk drawer. We’ve seen this many times, thinking smart about passwords that can fail horribly due to yellow sticky notes, compromised email accounts, or text files sitting on a computer desktop. But there are great password management solutions out there these days!

You know it’s important to use unique and strong passwords across all your devices and accounts. Strong passwords use upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters. If you are creating them yourself, avoid using your name, initials, date of birth, or any part of your (or your children’s or grandchildren’s) Social Security number.

However, remembering all these passwords can be quite a challenge. The solution is a password manager! These apps protect all your passwords and login information in an encrypted database, requiring you to remember only one master password. At times like this, when you are required to change passwords regularly, these apps are extremely useful because they can also generate random strong passwords for you for each site.

Some to consider:

• 1Password: www.agilebits.com/onepassword

1Password was one of the first big password managers. The software resides on your computer, as well as all of your other mobile devices. For a low monthly fee, it will automatically sync passwords and logins between them. There is also a family plan to share with others. This is useful for sharing with your immediate family and also for sharing with a trusted loved one, perhaps to make sure all important accounts are known and accessible. 1Password also has a wallet feature to safely store credit cards and other numbers you’d like to access paperlessly at home and on the go.

• Roboform: http://www.roboform.com

Roboform also works on all your computers and mobile devices and offers a limited free version. For an annual fee, the premium version syncs all your devices, has a secure wallet/vault, and offers two-factor verification. Roboform also has a family subscription to share safely with family members

• Dashlane: https://www.dashlane.com

Dashlane offers a free password manager that saves your current passwords, generates strong random passwords for any site, and also allows limited access to an emergency contact. The premium version will sync between your devices, share with others, and back up your information automatically.

We’re sure there are even more options out there, and choosing between them mostly depends on your personal choice of features and ease of use. We hope you can use your summer to dive into a more secure approach to managing your password. Throw away the yellow notes on the wall, the scribbled index cards in the back of a drawer, or the folded piece of paper in your wallet! We take your financial cybersecurity more seriously than ever, and we look forward to helping you do the same.